Potato-digger.



F. DUMAS.

POTATO DIGGEB..

APPLICATION Hum SEPT. e, 1910.

Patented Jan. 17, 1911.

' P. DUMAS.

POTATO BIGGER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1910.

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Patented. Jan. 17,1911.

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l @XM/buenas I sra'rns FRANK DUMAS, 0F BURKE, NEW YORK.

POTATO-IDIGGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led September 6, 1910. Serial No. 580,554.

To all whom 'it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK DUMAS, residing at Burke, in the county of Franklin and ,State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Potato-Digger, of which the following is a specification.

This invention' relates to that class of potato digging machines in which an endless picker belt is used for taking up the potatoes and depositing them into a conveyer or other olftake, and my said invention primarily has for its object to provide a simple and economically constructed digging machine of the type stated in which the several parts are compactly arranged and adapted for expeditiously picking up the potatoes and depositing them on the conveyer, without injury thereto.

with other Objects in View um Win here.

inafter ap ear, my invention consists in certain detai s of construction and peculiar combination of parts, all of which will be hereinafter fully explained, specifically pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying dra-wings, in which:

Figure 1, is a plan view of my potato digger machine. Fig. 2, is a vertical longitudinal section thereof, on line 2 2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a cross section thereof taken on the line 3 8 on Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is a diagrammatic side view of my machine and showing more particularly the arrangement of the power transmittingbelts. Fig. 5, is a detail view of a portion of the combined icker and conveyer chain. Fig.y 6, is a detail erspeetive View of the valve controlled eed box that leads to the potato receiving sacks. Fig. 7, is a view thatshows a modified form of the front end ofthe machine, hereinafter referred to.

In carrying out m invention in its simplest and preferred orm, the framing consists of the-side bars 1 1 and a rear cross board or beam 2, and the said frame is portably vmounted on the rear wheels 3 3 tixedly held on the rear cross shaft- 30 and the front. wheels 4 on a shaft 40 mounted in the front ends Vof side timbers 10 that form extensions of the main sides 1 1 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the said extensions being inclined downwardly to allow the -front wheels to run deep in the furrows beand 2 the said timbers 10 may be hingedly joined to the front end of the main frame, as shown in Fig. 7, and in this form the depth of the front or guide wheels is regulated by a ratchet 8 and pawl lever 9, the lever being joined to the frame by a link 80. 6 designates a yoke shaped draft frame that is pivotally hung ,on the front cross shaft 40 and at the forward or apex end, the said frame has a king pin 81 to which the draft tongue 82 is connected in such manner that the team and the machine can make short turns. vf*

15 designates a picker and digger roller journaled between'the front ends of the side beams 1 1, it having one of its shaft ends 16 extended through one of the sides 1 and provided with a sprocket 17 around which takes an endless chain 18 that imparts motion to the said sprocket in the direction indicated by the arrow see Fig. 2.

Picker roller 15 has a number of radially projected lingers, the ends of which are curved as at 15a so that while turning in the direction indicated by the arrow w the lsaid fingers dig down under the potatoes and and just inside of the rear end 2 of the main frame.

The trough 9 is inclined to cause the gathered potatoes toslide toward the discharge end of the said trough, which end has two outlets 90-91 separated by alongitudinal division 93 and the said discharges terminate in independent tunnel-like members 94 to which the bags for collecting the potatoes are hung. Coperating with the tunnel-like members 94 is a valve 95 mounted over the entrant ends of the tunnels and in such manner that by moving the crank handle 96 in opposite directions either of the outlets 90 or 91 is held closed while filling a bag or other receptacle from the outer or open outlet.

To provide for a positive feed action of the icker apron onto the olf-take trough, the elivery end of the endless apron or conveyer `is located close up to the trou h 9, see Figs. 1 and 2 and to allow for a ree and easy travel of the picker fingers the trough around which the endless chains that form a part of the conveyer pass;

The conveyer comprises the chains 82 to which are connected supplemental link members 83 that project beyond the surface or outer plane of the chain and which form bearings for the journals 84 of the cross slats 85 that carry the conveyer fingers 86 that project therefrom and are curved to takeover the potatoes and to form scooplike members when passing the delivery end of the picker roller, see Fig. 2.

The chain pulleys are provided with belt drivers over which takes the cross belt S9 that receives motion from the rear wheel l Shaft.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the drawings the complete construction, the operation and the advantages of my invention will be readily apparent.

vHaving thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A potato digger comprising a frame, having wheeled axles at the front and rear ends, a transversely held trough on the upper end, an endless inclined conveyer belt mounted on the frame with its 'upper end held to discharge into the trough, a picker roller journaled in the front end of the frame just in advance of and arranged to coperate with the lower end of the endless conveyer and means driven from one of the wheeled axles for operating the picker and conveyer devices.

2. In a potato digger, the combination with the main frame, an adjustable front extension for the frame, a wheeled axle mounted in the front frame extension, 'a wheeled senese axle mounted in the rear portion of the mainl sides of the main frame, with its upper end held to discharge into'the trough, said con- I veyer and the roller having outwardly projected fingers, the fingers of the conveyer and vthe drum passing between each other at the lower end of the conveyer, and means` for driving the conveyer belt and the picker down.

3. In a potato digger of the character stated, the combination with the main wheeled frame, the picker roller at the front end and the collectil'lgtrough at the upper end; of an endless conveyer whose lower end is held to receive the potatoes taken up by the picker and whose upper end discharges into the collecting trough, the said conveyer comprising a pair of oppositely disposed endless chains, chain pulleys therefor mounted in the main frame, said chains including supplemental link members and cross slats whose journals are pivotally mounted in the supplemental chain link members and means operated by one of the drive axles for actuating the picker and conveyer devices.

4. In a potato digger of the character described, the combination with the wheeled frame, the picker roller in the front end thereof and the endless conveyer, said conveyer and the roller havingoutwardly pro jected fingers arranged to pass between each other at the discharge side ofthe roller; of a .trough transversely mounted on the upper rear end of the frame, adjacent the discharge end of the conveyer, the side of the conveyer next the said end having slots for the passage therethrough of the conveyer lVitnesses:

Miel-MEL- T. SCANLON, lVAL'rER J. Means. 

